


The Day Love Won

by TheVioletSunflower



Category: Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, I'm bad at tags…, M/M, Ray mourns Egon's death, So much angst, The Ghostbusters go bust some ghosts, that's pretty much it, with lots of feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 14:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7938424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVioletSunflower/pseuds/TheVioletSunflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gay marriage is legalized in New York and Ray just wishes he could celebrate with the man he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Day Love Won

The news reporter was grinning as footage of couples kissing or standing hand in hand in lineups to register for marriage licenses played behind her. Ray Stantz watched the broadcast, slumped in an armchair with a bottle of wine. Today, the state of New York was letting gay couples marry for the first time. Today he should have been able to marry the love of his life. Today he missed Egon more than he had since the first months after his death. Ray raised the bottle in the direction of Egon's picture on the mantle as yet another pair of men pledged their lives to each other on the TV. "Here's to us, Spengie."

There was a knock on the door. Ray groaned. "Go away!"

"Come on Ray, let us in," came a voice from outside. Winston. Ray sighed and forced himself to get out of his chair and stumble to the door.

Winston was standing on his porch with a gentle smile, Peter behind him looking very lost and awkward.

"Hey guys," Ray said.

"How you feeling, Ray?" Winston asked.

"We won," Ray said, feeling completely numb to what should have been amazing news.

"We heard. It's been all over the radio today."

He nodded silently, looking at the ground.

"Can we come in?" Winston asked.

"Yeah. Sure." He stepped back to let the two men in.

Peter looked around the room and caught sight of the half empty bottle of wine on the side table. "That's some quality wine you got there!" he said, sitting in the chair Ray had just vacated so he could examine the label.

"It was Egon's favourite," Ray explained, sitting down on the couch. "He used to bring it home whenever anything big happened. Promotions. Scientific breakthroughs. When we finally paid off our mortgage. He always said wine was the proper way to celebrate."

Winston sat beside him. "He was a good man."

Ray nodded silently, not trusting his voice not to crack if he spoke. He stared straight ahead at the TV, swallowing hard in an effort to get the lump out of his throat.

"That should have been us," he finally said, staring at the middle-aged couple on the screen, proudly displaying their new marriage certificate.

Winston and Peter both looked at him but said nothing.

"We talked about this all the time," Ray continued. "The day we would be allowed to marry. What we were going to do. He was going to propose on the front lawn of Columbia University where we first met. We'd have a small wedding. Just us and a couple friends. Then we'd all go to dinner together before the two of us came home to a bottle of wine. That wine. The celebration wine. But now- now-"

The tears he'd been holding back all day burst out of him in loud sobs. He slumped forward, resting his head on his hand, tears soaking into his shirt sleeve. The memories he'd spent months repressing flooded back to him in one sickening moment. The tremors in Egon's usually-steady hands. The weight loss until his cheeks were hollowed out and he looked like he could be blown away by the slightest gust of wind. The stiff, painful movement of his joints until the pain got so bad that he couldn't leave his bed. The long nights by his side, waiting, sure that any night could be his last. The days praying to every god he could think of to spare his life. That awful sickening moment when Egon had looked at him and for a moment couldn't remember who he was. The morning he'd tried to wake him up and found him gone. The midnight drives in aimless circles through the city, trying to be anywhere but the empty house. The empty bed.

He felt Winston's arm around him and leaned his head on his friend's shoulder. "I loved him," he sobbed. "I loved him so much."

"I know," Winston said. "I know."

They sat like that for a long time. Ray crying. Winston holding him. Peter silently watching the couples on the news in various stages of excitement and commitment.

The silence was broken when the phone rang. "Janine," Peter announced, looking at the caller ID.

"Put her on speaker," Winston told him.

Peter obeyed. "Hi Janine."

"Hey Peter how's Ray holdin up?"

"You're on speaker," Winston answered. "He's having a tough time."

"Can he hear me?"

Ray sniffed. "Yeah Janine, I can hear you."

"Hey Ray, I'm really sorry about everything you're going through."

"Thanks Janine. And thanks for calling."

"That's not why I called though," she continued. "We got a call from a guy in a bit of a panic. Says there's a ghost in the Congregation Emanu-El of New York."

"The synagogue?" Ray asked.

"That's the one."

"What kinda ghost haunts a synagogue?" Winston asked.

Peter shrugged. "Ones trying to get revenge for bad afterlives?"

"We'll be right there," Winston said. "Ray, you don't have to come on this one. You can stay here."

"Not so fast," Janine said. "Guy who called me said the ghost asked for Ray personally."

"What?" Winston asked. "Can they do that?"

"Said he came in to clean the floors and there was all this glowy writing on the wall sayin 'GET RAY'."

Peter frowned. "You piss off any ghosts recently, Ray?"

"I- I don't think so."

"Maybe you'd best sit this one out," Winston said. "The last thing we want today is a vengeful ghost tearing your head off."

"No," he said, standing up. "I'll go." Ghost hunting, the proton packs, all the science involved in their business. They were all that was left of Egon. If he couldn't be with him today, at least he could contribute to his life's work. "Let's go. Come on."

Winston glanced at Peter who shrugged again. "All right. But we gotta be careful."

"You should probably hurry," Janine advised. "Guy on the phone sounded real worried!"

\---

A man who looked like some sort of janitor met them at the door, blubbering hysterically. The only understandable words were "ghost", "sanctuary" and "hurry". Winston put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We're professionals. That ghost will be gone before you know it."

The ghost was at the front of the sanctuary, standing very still like it had been waiting for them. He was a full-bodied apparition dressed in a crisp suit. Probably at least a class seven.

"All right," Ray said, adjusting the settings on his proton pack as he walked. "Let's send this ghost to-"

"Hello Raymond."

Ray's head snapped up and he looked properly at the ghost for the first time. His mouth fell open. "Egon?"

Egon smiled warmly, the kind of smile he reserved only for Ray. He looked strong and healthy, tall and immaculately groomed like he had been in his prime. Nothing like the hunched figure he had wasted away into in the last months of his life. Ray stared at him for a long time before slowly reaching up to touch his cheek. His hand passed through his face as if it were nothing, and it was all Ray could do not to start crying again at the sight. "But how? Why?"

"I have unfinished business," he explained. "I have something to do before I move on."

"What?"

Egon looked around the room. "This is how we discussed it, yes? A small service with a few friends?"

Ray's mouth fell open again. His eyes filled with tears. "You mean…"

"Marry me, Raymond."

He nodded. "Yes. Yes. Of course! Yes!" He threw his arms around the ghost instinctively, barely holding back a whimper as his arms passed through his body and he hugged only his own chest.

Egon touched his chest where Ray's hands had gone through him and looked like he was about to cry too. He turned to the other two. "Winston, are you still ordained from your sister's wedding?"

"Course," he said, grinning. "Great to see you again, Spengler."

Egon smiled again. "And Peter will witness?"

"As long as you don't make me wear a bridesmaid dress."

Ray laughed, grinning at Egon through the tears running down his face. He was here. Egon was here. They were getting married.

"I can't stay long," Egon said. "I know I promised you dinner and a bottle of wine. I'm sorry."

"We'll take care of that," Peter told him.

Egon nodded without taking his eyes off Ray. "Thank you."

Ray smiled back at him. He was vaguely aware that Winston was saying something, but he barely heard him. Egon was here. Egon!

Winston coughed. "Um, Ray?"

"Oh! Right! I do!"

Egon smiled that gorgeous warm smile again.

"And do you, Egon Spengler take Ray Stantz to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then I now pronounce you married. You may kiss."

Ray opened his mouth to point out that Egon wasn't exactly tangible at the moment. But before he could say anything, strong hands were taking his waist and pulling him to Egon's body. Their lips met, and for one glorious moment he was solid and warm and present and… Egon. The one dream he'd had over and over since the day he died.

Then they broke apart. Egon smiled at him as he started to fade away. Four words echoed in the room as the last remnants of his form disappeared. "I love you, Ray."

Ray swallowed hard and nodded. "I love you too," he whispered to the empty room.

**Author's Note:**

> Before I get a lot of comments about it, I know this isnt how Jewish weddings work. Elaborate weddings are just hard to plan in under an hour, which is how much time Egon had. I also know that Harold Ramis technically died a few years after gay marriage was legalized in New York but shhhhhh.


End file.
